Introduction to Postlude:
"Postlude: a Play, for the Moment..." is a short, one-act play by Jerome McDonough. It is based in a post-apocalyptic earth, perhaps far in the future or maybe just tomorrow. Widespread disease, war, anarchy, and other generally chaotic occurrences have wiped out civilization as we know it, leaving only small remnants of what had once existed. However, even in the world of the selfish, power hungry Caesars and the cannibalistic subhuman Scavengers, hope remains in the hearts of the Family and the Saved. All in all, Postlude presents a theme of hope in the midst of severe devastation and stresses the importance of family and togetherness, all the while not ignoring the reality of loss and betrayal.
Kimi says:
Hey, so this is my first story here. I know it probably will suck, but I like to write, so I'm doing it anyway. Anywho, this is basically a rewrite of Jerome McDonough's Postlude, from play to story format. My school performed Postlude for a one-act competition, and I fell in love with it. I was on lights crew, so I really am not the most immersed in the play itself, but I DID run the spotlight on the "good" characters. So basically, I wanted to see if I could pull this off, retelling one of my favorite stories in a different way. The storyline and much of the dialog is mostly the same, but lots has to be changed and parts have to be twisted to make sense, some much more than others. Anyways, hope you enjoy!
Characters:
The Silent Woman: an angelic figure, mysterious, but not suspicious.
The Family:
Patteren: parent of Virghu, but fatherly figure over the whole group.
Madra: Virghu's mother, the worrier and realist.
Virghu: daughter of Patteren and Madra, the hopeful optimist.
The Saved:
Hulaf: the Infected, very sick but a good-hearted man, caring and very hopeful.
Diram: the Burning Woman, taunted by constant memories of the flames that destroyed her village.
Nanchet: the Scarred, a war veteran who keeps a tough exterior but is far from cold-hearted.
Innoce: the Child, youngest of the group, representing innocence but not quite ignorance.
The Caesars:
King Jackal: greedy leader of the Caesars, comes from a line of kings and rulers.
Temptress: seductive follower of Jackal, uses others and twists them to her own purposes.
Despot: once a military leader, can't wait for his opportunity to take King Jackal's place.
The Scavengers:
Covet: synonymous with "greed", represents one of the seven deadly sins.
Licentious: perfectly described by his name, meaning "lacking moral or sexual restraint".
Muerta: her name, "death", epitomizes for what she is best known.